The Department of Justice on Friday released the largest batch of Jeffrey Epstein files to date, a giant tranche including three million more pages of documents and thousands of videos and images.
The documents shed new light on the disgraced financier’s relationships with several prominent figures, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They also contain a significant number of uncorroborated tips to law enforcement.
Congress mandated the release in November, and President Trump signed the bill despite initially opposing it, as he has sought to put an end to the accusations and speculation swirling around the case. The latest batch of documents arrived weeks after a Dec. 19 deadline imposed by Congress.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the White House “had nothing to do” with vetting the released documents. “They had no oversight and they did not tell this department how to do our review and what to look for and what to redact or not redact,” he said.
Here’s what else we know about the latest release of Epstein files.
The release was voluminous.
The department released three million pages, 2,000 videos and some 180,000 images at about 11 a.m. Eastern on Friday. The pages consist of email chains, text messages, news articles, internal investigative reports and other material tied to Mr. Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
Mr. Blanche said that the department redacted images of every woman in the files except for Ghislaine Maxwell, Mr. Epstein’s longtime companion and associate who has been convicted of sex trafficking.
Federal prosecutors initially identified six million pages as “potentially responsive” to the law requiring the department to release its files on investigations into Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell, Mr. Blanche said. But he added that officials had erred on the side of “over-collection” and later decided to release only half that amount. Some Democratic lawmakers accused the department on Friday of violating the law and demanded it release all six million pages.
The documents contain unverified tips and allegations about Trump.
The files appeared to contain at least 4,500 documents that mentioned Mr. Trump. One was a summary that officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation assembled last summer of more than a dozen tips from members of the public involving Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein.
It is unclear why the investigators put together the summary, which includes accusations of sexual abuse by Mr. Epstein and Mr. Trump. The emails did not include any corroborating evidence, and The New York Times is not describing the details of the unverified claims.
Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Mr. Epstein. In response to a request for comment, the White House referred to a public statement from the Justice Department, which stated that Friday’s documents “may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos.” It also said that some of the documents contained false claims against Mr. Trump that were submitted to the F.B.I. before the 2020 election.
Many of the other documents were news articles or emails that referenced Mr. Trump.
The files add details about Epstein’s relationships with several powerful men.
According to released emails, Mr. Epstein drafted notes to and about Mr. Gates in 2013, suggesting that he engaged in extramarital sex. The Gates Foundation called the accusations “absolutely absurd and completely false.”
In one email, Mr. Epstein wrote that he had helped Mr. Gates acquire drugs “in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls,” and that he had facilitated rendezvous for Mr. Gates with married women.
It was not clear if Mr. Epstein ever sent the emails to Mr. Gates.
The files also revealed that Mr. Lutnick planned a visit to Mr. Epstein’s island in 2012, though he had previously said he severed ties with Mr. Epstein around 2005.
Mr. Lutnick told The Times on Friday that he could not comment about the island visit because he had not seen the latest Epstein documents.
A 2013 email exchange between the British billionaire Richard Branson and Mr. Epstein suggested that the pair had a familiar relationship, built at least in part around their interest in women. And multiple messages between Mr. Musk and Mr. Epstein showed the two comparing schedules to find time to meet in Florida or in the Caribbean between 2012 and 2014.
One document detailed a diagram of Mr. Epstein’s inner circle, including Ms. Maxwell, his lawyer Darren Indyke and his accountant Richard Kahn.
This was likely the last major release of Epstein files.
Mr. Blanche signaled this batch of documents would be the last major release of the Epstein files. He said that even these documents were unlikely to satisfy the public demand for information about Mr. Epstein.
The department is required to submit a report to Congress explaining why it redacted information. Mr. Blanche said it withheld documents with personal identifying information or medical information of Mr. Epstein’s victims. It also withheld material depicting child sexual abuse and material that depicted death or violence.
The department has not yet submitted the report, but Mr. Blanche said that federal officials would “do so in due course.”
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
The post Here’s What to Know About the Millions of Pages of Epstein Documents appeared first on New York Times.
